Some particle production systems rely on vacuum suction forces to carry particle-containing mixtures from a reactor region to a collection region. However, when using such systems, care must be taken to produce or condition sensitive or reactive materials.
When operating in an ambient pressure environment, contamination may occur if the internal pressure of the system falls below the ambient pressure. One solution that can be effective is to seal the system. However, completely airtight seals, if available, are very expensive.
Often, less costly seals can be used if pressure within the system is maintained at a level above the ambient pressure. However, too large a differential between the system pressure and the ambient pressure can encourage leakage out of the system, which is also undesirable. Thus, the pressure differential should be minimized.
Unfortunately, in systems where the vacuum suction used is not constant, providing a fixed overpressure into the system will not effectively minimize the pressure differential between the system pressure and the ambient pressure.
What is needed is a system and a method capable of sufficiently minimizing the pressure differential in a system having a varying vacuum suction.